


Loveday 2010

by wheel_pen



Series: Immortals [8]
Category: The Fallen - Thomas E. Sniegoski, The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-01
Updated: 2015-03-01
Packaged: 2018-03-15 17:38:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3455957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wheel_pen/pseuds/wheel_pen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Newly come into their Immortal powers, teenaged Aaron and Elena are on the run from mysterious enemies—and their only ally is the brother he hasn’t seen in years, Damon. This story is unfinished.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Loveday 2010

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. The Immortals are powerful Earth beings who have children with mortals and are supposed to take care of them. The different clans are inspired by various movies and TV shows.  
> 2\. The bad words are censored; that’s just how I do things.  
> 3\. I own nothing, and I appreciate the chance to play in these universes.

_Nebraska, July 2010_

Aaron didn’t consciously know where to turn as he ran down the twisty maze of back alleys, but he had always tried to trust his instincts, so he went whichever way felt right, tugging Elena along behind him and glancing sideways to make sure Gabriel was keeping up. The shadowy figures who chased them weren’t terrifying in a tangible way, like a gang of muggers; but something about the ghostly glimpses Aaron caught of them turned his blood to ice. He didn’t want to see them any closer.

They turned another corner and suddenly skidded to a stop before a brick wall—a dead end. “D—n,” Aaron muttered in surprise. He’d really thought this was the right direction.

“Now what?” Elena asked in a fierce whisper, clutching his arm. Despite all the running they’d done, neither was out of breath.

Aaron turned to face the way they’d come, mentally calculating whether they’d have enough time to get back to the last fork before their pursuers caught them. He didn’t think so. Shadows with distorted shapes appeared at the end of the alley and Aaron took a protective stance, feeling the power beginning to tingle in his fingertips. He didn’t _want_ to fight; but in some ways it would be a relief to get the conflict out in the open, to finally see who was chasing them. Gabriel growled softly beside him, prepared to do his part.

Then suddenly a hand reached through the brick wall and grabbed Aaron’s shoulder, yanking him through like it was only an illusion. But when Elena felt the wall in shock, it was cool and rough, as substantial as anything you’d expect to find—until the hand grabbed her, too, and she found herself standing on the other side, in a very similar-looking alley.

Only here, there was someone else.

“Come on, we have to go,” the man said urgently, indicating his waiting car.

“Who are you?” Elena demanded.

“He’s my brother,” Aaron revealed, staring at him in shock.

“Name’s Damon, we’ll chat later, get in the car,” he ordered flippantly, opening the back door for them.

Elena had grown mistrustful of strangers, however. “I didn’t know you had a brother,” she said to Aaron, hoping he could explain.

Damon made a noise of impatience. “My little trick isn’t going to fool them for long,” he stated, nodding at the wall. “So can we please do the Oprah revelations later?” Elena didn’t really appreciate the snarky tone, considering the time she’d had lately.

Aaron looked around. “Where’s Gabriel?”

“Who?” Damon asked in exasperation.

Aaron was back at the wall, crouching down at the spot he’d been pulled through. “My dog.”

“We don’t have time for lost puppies,” Damon snapped. “Get in the car!”

Aaron pushed on the wall experimentally and his hands began to dissolve into it. “How are you doing that?” Elena wanted to know.

“I don’t know,” Aaron admitted, concentrating. A moment later he retracted his hands, dragging Gabriel through by the collar.

“Oh my G-d, we do not have time for this!” Damon insisted. “A dog is just going to slow us down. No, do _not_ put him in the car!” he ordered as Aaron directed the yellow mutt into the backseat. Elena hesitated by the door, unsure whether to get in herself.

“He’s been with me since I was eleven,” Aaron tried to explain. “He’s my friend. I won’t leave him.”

“Please! Gabriel wants to go with Aaron!” Gabriel pleaded, sticking his head out the open doorway.

Damon did a double-take mid-eyeroll. “Holy s—t,” he exclaimed. “You have a talking dog!”

Aaron glanced at Elena, surprised by his brother’s reaction—but hey, whatever worked. “You wanted to go?” he prompted.

Damon still staring at Gabriel. “Well, yeah,” he agreed. “Yeah, let’s go.” He shut the back door—with Gabriel and Elena inside—and Aaron hurried around to the front passenger seat. As soon as the doors were shut Damon hit the gas, racing the car into the street with equal parts reckless speed and effortless control.

“Where are we going?” Aaron asked him, looking back over his shoulder to see if any shadowy figures were following them.

“How do you have a brother?” Elena wanted to know.

“Hang on, _I’m_ driving the car, so _I_ get to ask the first question,” Damon claimed. “And _I_ want to know where the h—l you got a talking dog!”

“Gabriel came from the Humane Society,” Gabriel answered readily.

“Where before _that_?” Damon persisted.

“Don’t remember,” Gabriel replied without concern. “Gabriel was just a puppy.”

“Um, I thought we could understand him because we were, er, different,” Aaron ventured, perplexed by Damon’s fascination.

“We can hear other animals talk,” Elena added supportively.

“Yeah, but full sentences? Abstract concepts?” Damon countered, weaving across lanes as he sped out of town. “No, this mutt is much more advanced than the average dog on the street.”

“Gabriel is advanced?” Gabriel asked in surprise. Aaron was thinking the same thing but didn’t want to say it.

“Well, in comparison,” Damon qualified. “You’ve got a lot to learn about pronouns.”

“Is that like bacon?” Gabriel asked hopefully.

“No,” Aaron assured him, and the dog made a noise of disappointment and laid down on the backseat. “So where are we going?” he repeated as the car reached the highway, heading west.

“Denver,” Damon finally told them. “That’s _her_ people’s territory,” he added, indicating Elena. “The Skywalkers. They’ll help us out.”

Aaron and Elena exchanged a dubious glance. “You mean—my biological parents?” she asked in surprise. “You know them?”

“Of course,” Damon replied as though it should be obvious. Which it wasn’t.

“Did you say _Skywalker_?” Aaron checked, hoping he’d misheard.

“I did, because that’s their name,” Damon stated, as the car began to cross the dark countryside. “And don’t think about making any _Star Wars_ jokes, Logan’s sense of humor isn’t really that great.”

“Logan? Is that my father?” Elena pounced. “Logan Skywalker?” It sounded a little ridiculous to her. “How do you know them?”

“Well how do you think?” Damon shot back obnoxiously. “We’re of the same kind. We’re all _different_ , as you so eloquently put it,” he added, indicating Aaron.

“Is he really your brother?” Elena asked in a tone of serious disapproval. They certainly didn’t _act_ alike.

“Yes,” Damon answered instead. “And I’m married to your sister.”

Elena’s jaw dropped. “My—what?!” She sagged back against the seat, feeling suddenly overwhelmed. Gabriel put his head in her lap to comfort her.

“You came to see me when I was little,” Aaron remembered, staring at Damon. “I was in a foster home that wasn’t very good,” he added to Elena, and Damon snorted at the understatement. “And you took me away, and put me in a different one,” he finished. “That was ten years ago. You don’t look a day older.”

“This age looks good on me,” Damon boasted.

“I don’t understand,” Elena admitted, trying to rally herself. “Who were those… people chasing us?”

“Old Ones,” Damon told her. “They go after the young and vulnerable—that’s you—and they’ve been very feisty lately.” For once he actually sounded worried.

“Old Ones,” Aaron repeated dubiously. “Okay. And what are _we_?”

“Well, some people call us Immortals,” Damon tried to explain. “We’re not _really_ immortal, we just live a lot longer than humans. And we don’t have to worry about petty things like illness or injury.”

“I broke my arm two years ago,” Elena contradicted.

Damon rolled his eyes again. “That’s because you’re _young_. You’re just starting to come into your powers. That’s why the Old Ones target you, because you’re weak.”

“Well, what do these Old Ones want?” Aaron asked reasonably.

“Oh, who knows?” Damon shrugged. “It’s bad, whatever it is. They’ll kill you if they catch you. Or at least you’ll disappear and never be seen again.”

Aaron and Elena glanced at each other, wishing they had a few minutes to talk this over alone. That the two of them were _different_ from those around them, they already knew; they had no idea about why or how, or why people—Old Ones?—were chasing them, attacking the people they cared about. Was the only person with the answers really this obnoxious person who didn’t seem that much older than they were?

“That would be a _yes_ ,” Damon said suddenly into the silence.

The other two started. “What?” Aaron asked.

“You’re giving each other moony little looks, wondering if I’m your only hope,” Damon predicted cheekily. “For right now, yeah, I am.”

“Well maybe you could explain a few more things about us,” Elena told him, unable to fully conceal her irritation. “Like how we have these—abilities.”

“And who our biological parents are,” Aaron added.

“Fair enough,” Damon decided. “Five-minute summary. You’re not human. You’re part of an ancient species with magical powers. The young are supposed to be raised by humans so they develop an affinity towards them, because we spend a lot of our time magically getting humans out of trouble. But you’re old enough now that your powers are coming in, so you’re being returned to your real families for training in using them.”

This explanation was met with total silence. “That makes sense,” Gabriel finally opined. “Are we going to eat soon?”

“We can stop once we cross the border of Colorado,” Damon replied. “Then we’ll be in protected territory and a little safer.”

“Skywalker territory,” Aaron finally remarked, in a deeply dubious tone.

“Look, that’s their name,” Damon told him shortly. “ _I_ said we ought to sue George Lucas, but nobody agreed with me. _Per usual_. She’s a Skywalker, you’re a Loveday, I used to be a Loveday but now I’m Ironroot—“

“Wait, Loveday?” Aaron interrupted. “That’s my—birth name?”

“Our parents’ name,” Damon agreed, with more than a tinge of bitterness. “Once you get married you can pick a new one, but for now you’re stuck with it. Sorry.”

“No, I—like it,” Aaron decided slowly. “It feels—right.”

“Figures,” Damon snorted.

“Where are—Aaron’s parents?” Elena wanted to know. “If mine are in Denver.”

“Europe,” Damon told them, the bitterness even more apparent. “You’re the youngest,” he added to Aaron, “and they just wanted to retire instead of looking after you. That’s why you’ve had a rough ride. I tried to keep an eye on you, but—“ He broke off in an uncharacteristic manner. “Well, that’s the story. You’ll come back to Virginia with me to hang out and learn your magic tricks,” he finished sarcastically.

Aaron didn’t even know what to say after that. The idea that his biological parents had abandoned him, weren’t interested in him, wasn’t new to him; it was what he’d always been told, as long as he could remember. Obviously the rest of it—magical powers and all—wasn’t what he was expecting to hear. But he had always been remarkably adaptable to the changes in his life—or maybe that was part of these abilities, too.

They whizzed past several signs on the highway and Damon was visibly relieved. “Colorado,” he announced.

“Are we eating now?” Gabriel asked eagerly.

“I could something to eat, too,” Elena agreed.

“You know, you don’t really _need_ to eat,” Damon told her. “It’s just something you’re used to doing.”

“Well I’d like to be doing it _soon_ , please,” she responded frostily.

“Okay, okay,” he agreed defensively, pulling off the highway towards a small town. “So much hostility. Family trait, I guess, Skywalkers are always surly, even your sister.”

Elena made a very hostile noise and Aaron glanced between the two of them with concern. “Um, what’s Elena’s sister like?” he asked, trying to change the subject.

“Surly,” Damon repeated unhelpfully. “Hey, Katherine would be the first to agree with me, they are difficult people and like it that way.” Aaron gave him a pointed look. “I mean, she’s my wife! I love her. I even married her first so she could be in charge.”

“What?” asked Elena in confusion, not sure she wanted clarification really.

“McDonald’s okay?” Damon asked as he pulled into the parking lot. Gabriel barked excitedly. “Thought so. I have _five_ wives, actually.”

Elena wrinkled her nose in distaste. “What, like a harem?”

“Well, _I_ like to think so,” Damon said jauntily as they got out of the car. “The ladies tend to think otherwise, however. C’mere, talking dog,” he added to Gabriel, pulling out a pair of dark glasses. “Okay, you’re gonna be my seeing-eye dog—“

“Gabriel, can you wait outside for us?” Aaron intervened quickly, not wanting to encourage his brother’s mischief. Damon sighed dramatically and Gabriel whined; only one got a pat on the head. “Don’t worry, I’ll bring you something soon.”

“Order what you want, I’ve got it covered,” Damon told them generously as they walked inside. “Humans and their monetized society. It’s really quite limiting.” The girl at the cash register looked askance at this remark and Aaron hurriedly stepped up to order.

As they stood off to the side waiting for their food, Elena excused herself to go to the ladies’ room—another “pointless illusion,” according to Damon, but she wasn’t going to take the chance. “So once we get to Denver, what happens?” Aaron wanted to know, his voice low.

Damon shrugged a little, really seeming to not know. “We’ll hang out there for a while, until the Old Ones calm down,” he decided. “Probably have some boring meetings, the prophetic clans will come up with some ominous fortune cookie sayings… then you and I will head for Virginia.”

“Leaving Elena in Denver?” Aaron asked reluctantly, staring off in the direction she’d gone.

Damon smirked a little, but fondly. “She’ll be with her family,” he reminded his brother. “You’ll see her again. Maybe they’ll even let her come with us, you two seem to have _bonded_ rather well,” he added with a bit of a leer. Instead of getting indignant Aaron found himself grinning. “What?”

Aaron shook his head. “I just—it’s nice to know that I have a family. _More_ family,” he corrected, thinking with sudden wistfulness of his adoptive parents and little brother, whom he’d run away from in a firestorm in an effort to save them.

“Hey, don’t get all mopey,” Damon advised, punching his shoulder lightly. “Once we get settled you can call them and explain. Well, lie to comfort them,” he amended. “And anyway, you knew I was out there, you said you remembered me.”

“Sometimes I wasn’t sure if you were real or just a dream,” Aaron admitted slowly. “My therapist said you were just a figment of my imagination, that the State took me out of that home and put me in another. He even showed me the file—“

“Well, of course,” Damon interrupted. “It’s all supposed to look normal for the humans and their record-keeping. The fewer holes, the better.”

“Here’s your food, sir,” the girl at the register said, giving Damon another odd glance. They didn’t seem to bother him.

Suddenly Elena came back around the corner, a troubled expression on her face. “You said we’re headed to Denver?” she checked of Damon. “Look!” She drew the boys’ attention to a TV around the corner, which was tuned to the local news.

“… _record snowmelts in Denver are causing massive flooding, leading to chaos in the greater metropolitan area_ ,” intoned the anchor. “ _Authorities are warning travelers away from_ —“

Damon let out what Aaron feared was a very nasty word in another language and yanked a cell phone out of his pocket. Fortunately he stomped outside before he started yelling into it.

Aaron tossed a couple of hamburgers out to Gabriel and then finally he and Elena were able to be alone, albeit with Damon angrily pacing back and forth in front of the nearby window. Despite the opportunity, they found that they didn’t have much to say—or much appetite.

“Do you—trust him?” Elena finally asked, cupping her milkshake in her hands.

“I do,” Aaron assured her, watching Damon swing by again. “I know he’s obnoxious, but—I think he really wants to help us.”

Elena nodded slowly. “That’s what I think, too.” She was also trying to trust her instincts more, and that’s what they told her. “But it’s just so—“ She shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest, suddenly cold.

“Hey.” Aaron stretched out his arm across the table and Elena pulled one hand free to join his. “I think we’re better off than we were before,” he opined. “We know more, and we’re headed somewhere with people—like us. I think it will all make more sense soon.” Elena smiled at him, appreciating the way he managed to make her feel better even in the midst of chaos and confusion.

“This makes _no_ sense at all,” Damon huffed, throwing himself down in the booth next to Aaron. “It’s gotta be Old Ones but Logan won’t say for sure. But _that_ plan’s out the window.”

“We’re not going to Denver?” Elena asked, suddenly crestfallen.

“The metro area’s being _evacuated_ ,” Damon pointed out to her. “It’s a mess. Your parents will get it under control soon,” he added, a bit more reassuringly, “but for now we’ll have to go someplace else.”

“Oh.” Elena hadn’t realized how much she’d been looking forward to meeting her biological parents until now, and the disappointment was demoralizing. Aaron squeezed the hand he still held.

“But hey, no worries, I got plan B all lined up,” Damon went on brightly. “We’re goin’ to Vegas, baby!”

“Las Vegas?” Aaron repeated, staring at him. “Isn’t that kind of far?”

“I’ll drive fast,” Damon promised flippantly. “Besides, once we get there, Starkmoon will give us a royal welcome. He’s one of the few _cool_ dudes among our people. And it just so happens I’ve got an _in_ with him, he’s married to my sister. _Our_ sister,” he corrected, looking at Aaron.

“I—we have a sister?” Aaron asked in surprise, much as Elena had earlier. “What’s her name?”

“Harmony.”

“Really.” Aaron blinked, assessing this idea. Then he became suspicious. “Do we have any _other_ siblings?”

Damon’s suddenly shifty eyes seemed to confirm that he wasn’t telling all he knew. “Well, we have another sister, Liv,” he admitted. “She’s married to Snowstrider, though, and they’re nomadic, probably in Alaska right now, so not much help—“

“Do we have any _other_ siblings?” Aaron repeated.

“It’s complicated,” Damon finally replied. “Family relationships aren’t exactly the same as with humans.”

“What does _that_ mean?” Aaron wanted to know, not sure how it could be anything good.

“Well look at the time,” Damon redirected without subtlety. “Let’s hit the road. Vegas awaits!”

They scooted out of the booth, gathering up their trash. “I’m going to the men’s room,” Aaron told them, starting to walk away.

“Oh come on,” Damon huffed impatiently. “You can just go in the car.”

Aaron and Elena stared at him. “Um, what?” Aaron asked dubiously.

“Hey, I have magical powers,” Damon reminded him. “I can put a toilet in a car easily enough.”

Aaron blinked at him, then glanced over at the employee who had moved from the register to wipe off a nearby table and was trying to look like she hadn’t heard them. Well, at least she’d have a story to tell later about her crazy customers tonight. “Yeah, I’ll just be a minute,” Aaron decided, heading for the restaurant’s bathrooms.

Damon rolled his eyes as he left. “So. You’re married to my sister? Katherine?” Elena opened.

“Check and check,” he acknowledged. He had an unnerving way of staring at her that Elena wasn’t entirely comfortable with.

“Do I have any other siblings?” she probed.

“What am I, the family almanac?” Damon complained, glancing at the bathrooms impatiently.

“You’re the one who said you had the _answers_ ,” Elena pointed out, not impressed with his attitude.

He sighed. “Okay, okay. Um, you have another sister named Bella who lives in Seattle,” he finally revealed.

“I have two sisters?” All her life Elena had only had her younger (adopted) brother; she had always wondered what it would be like to share things with a sister. Now to find out she had _two_ —“Are there others?” she pressed.

Damon hesitated. “No one worth mentioning,” he decided.

“I don’t understand,” Elena insisted. “Why won’t you tell us?”

“It’s _complicated_ ,” Damon repeated, as though this were supposed to be a good explanation. “Your tiny human-raised brains can’t handle it yet.”

“We’ve been handling our abilities, and the talking dog, just fine,” she reminded him coolly.

“That talking dog is awesome,” Damon agreed thoughtfully, changing the subject. “I wonder where he comes from.”

“What?” Elena asked. “I thought—“

Aaron reappeared and Damon declined to elaborate on his comment. “All done?” he asked his brother with fake solicitude. “Did you wash your hands? Humans find that really important.”

“I thought you wanted to go?” Aaron responded pointedly.

“Right. Vegas, baby!” Damon repeated with enthusiasm, heading out the door.

“Did you want me to drive some?” Aaron offered. “So you can—Oh, I suppose you don’t get tired,” he realized.

“Nope,” Damon confirmed. “Yo, Gabe, you ready to go?” he asked the dog who bounded up to him. “You ready to go to Las Vegas?” Aaron rolled his eyes as he reached for the car door—clearly Gabriel would have no idea what he was talking about.

“Is there birthday cake at Las Vegas?” Gabriel wanted to know. “Gabriel loves birthday cake!”

“Oh, there’s _tons_ of birthday cake—“ Damon was promising, but Aaron stopped listening as he sat down in the front passenger seat of Damon’s Corvette—and found himself sitting at a table inside a motor home.

“What the—“ Startled didn’t begin to describe his reaction as he looked wildly around himself, seeing the parking lot of the McDonald’s through the windows. Aaron stood and headed for the door.

“Something wrong?” Damon asked from the driver’s seat.

Aaron looked between him and the door which lead outside. “What just happened?”

“Magic,” Damon replied smugly. “I told you—“

Aaron jumped down the steps of the motor home and found himself standing in the parking lot again, his hand on the open door of the Corvette.

“Is everything okay?” Elena asked worriedly, pausing as she was about to get in the backseat.

Gabriel leaped in through the open door. “Oh boy, bunk beds!” he exclaimed with excitement. “Gabriel and Aaron had bunk beds once!” Elena gave him a strange look.

“Hang on,” Aaron warned her. He bent down and peered inside the car at Damon, who lounged behind the wheel.

“Do you have a problem?” his older brother asked him lazily.

“What are you doing?” Aaron asked in annoyance.

“Using my abilities to make you more comfortable,” Damon replied indignantly. “What’s wrong with that?”

Aaron narrowed his eyes, but tried to answer the question. “It seems like whenever we use our—abilities, the people chasing us could find us faster,” he noted.

Damon’s expression said this was a good point, but it didn’t change his behavior. “Look, either I use magic, attract their attention, and hopefully outrun them,” he listed, “or I use no magic, stay under their radar, and take forever to get anywhere, without enough legroom.”

“And you’re not really the cautious type,” Aaron guessed dryly.

“Are you getting in or not?” Damon prompted instead of answering.

“Gabriel wants the top bunk!” called the dog from inside the vehicle.

“Okay, Gabe,” Aaron agreed with a sigh, getting back into the passenger seat of the car. Again he found himself seated at the table in the motor home. He turned to check on Gabriel on the bunks that unfolded from the wall and jerked back around when he heard a gasp—Elena sat across from him, looking around in shock. “Magic,” he said to her, shaking his head a little.

“All aboard,” Damon called, starting up the motor. “Let’s get this boat going.”

It was a long drive down the endless, featureless highway and Aaron and Elena went from keyed up to exhausted quickly. They ended up on a twin bed stretched across the back of the motor home—a little cozy for two, but neither wanted to separate. Gabriel slept, untroubled, on the top bunk.

It was still dark when Aaron woke up, disoriented and stiff from his cramped sleeping position. He slipped from the bed, careful not to disturb Elena, and headed for the front of the motor home. Damon sat in the driver’s seat, both feet up on the dashboard, talking quietly on his phone—apparently he couldn’t be bothered to press the gas or steer. Magical cruise control, Aaron supposed.

“—looks just like you, I mean _just_ ,” Damon was saying. “Very tempting. No, of course, I know. He’s got his eye on her anyway—“ He noticed Aaron approaching as his brother tried to look like he wasn’t eavesdropping. “The princeling is here,” he said into the phone, his tone sarcastic again. Aaron realized suddenly how tender it had been before. “I’ll talk to you soon. Love you.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Aaron told him when he hung up.

“Pull up a chair,” Damon shrugged, and when Aaron looked behind him there was a chair waiting.

“Magic does make things easier,” he noted, sitting down.

“Don’t even get me started on that,” Damon advised. “There’s a whole lot of philosophical s—t I’m supposed to teach you about moderation and not taking things for granted and what really matters in life. But you’re not gonna learn it from me spouting off like Socrates in a toga—“

“That _would_ be distracting,” Aaron agreed dryly.

Damon smirked in acknowledgement. “I mean, the only way to really learn is by _doing_. By being out there in the world, making mistakes, finding your balance.”

Aaron sighed and gazed out the windshield. “I was kind of hoping I was done making mistakes,” he admitted, “now that I have someone to explain what’s going on.”

“Sorry, we’re immortal, not omniscient,” Damon told him. “What kind of mistakes are we talking about here?” he probed after a moment. “Wait, lemme guess, you wanted something really bad, it appeared in your room, you couldn’t figure out how to get rid of it, and your folks thought you’d stolen it.”

Aaron looked at him. “No. Did that happen to you?”

“Maybe a few times,” Damon confessed impishly. “Only it wasn’t a _thing_ , it was this actress I had a crush on—S—t,” he swore suddenly, giving Aaron a hard look. “You didn’t knock anyone up, did you? Because we have to go back for—“

“ _No_ ,” Aaron told him in annoyance. “I didn’t— _knock anyone up_.”

“Well no need to get huffy about it,” Damon responded, relaxing. “It _does_ happen, you know.”

Aaron didn’t really want to talk about that. There was something even more serious on his mind, and although Damon wasn’t the most responsible person Aaron could envision, he was the _only_ person available at the moment who could give him some advice. “I think I—well, I killed someone,” he finally confessed in a soft tone.

The motor home swerved slightly and Damon dropped his feet to the floor. “A human, you mean?” he clarified, and Aaron nodded, staring down at this hands. “Well go on,” Damon added, as if that should be obvious.

“There was this guy at school who was hassling me—“ Aaron began, the words tumbling out now.

But Damon interrupted him. “Wait. You got beat up in six different foster homes, and the person you chose to kill was just ‘some guy at school hassling you’?” he asked with dark derision.

Aaron automatically glanced back at Elena, to make sure she was still asleep. “I did _not_ get ‘beat up in six different foster homes’!” he protested in a low hiss. “Only two were kind of bad.”

Damon rolled his eyes. “Continue.”

“I just—lost my temper,” Aaron went on, thinking back. “I was so angry, about everything—“ The shame and fear still woke him up at night. “And this—fire just came out of my hands, and he went flying. His neck was broken, I knew he was dead.”

Damon gave him a long look. “So why didn’t I have to break you out of jail?” he questioned, sensing there was more to the story.

“He’s not dead—anymore,” Aaron answered, in his softest tone yet. “I—I put my hands on him, and there was this yellow glow, and then—he was okay.” He finally looked up at Damon, the questions in his eyes begging for answers.

The corner of Damon’s mouth quirked up slightly and he straightened in his seat, turning his attention more to the road. His posture said he didn’t find his brother’s confessions to be that surprising. “Lovedays are healers,” he said simply. “Each family, they kind of specialize in something. I mean, it’s not too regimented, but some are known for art and music, some for science and technology, some for politics—Lovedays are known for medicine and healing.”

“I’m a healer?” Aaron repeated. That also felt right, like his name. “ _You’re_ a healer?” he asked in a slightly more incredulous tone.

“Well, it doesn’t hit everyone the same,” Damon responded, his tone a bit defensive.

“Sorry,” Aaron said immediately, feeling badly.

“I like to garden,” Damon continued. “Growing things, bringing life to bare ground—that’s how it works for me.”

“Oh, that’s nice,” Aaron assured him. He really couldn’t picture his brother as a gardener, either, but he didn’t dare say that.

Damon got over it. “Well, even people from the same family can be pretty different,” he allowed. “You’ve got the fire thing going on, for example, while I’m metal. Gardening plus metal, hence Ironroot. Pretty clever, I thought.”

Aaron goggled at him. “ _Metal_ comes out of your hands?!”

“Uh, no. I’m not Wolverine,” Damon scoffed. “Fire doesn’t _come out of_ your hands, either, it comes from combustion reactions in the air _around_ your hands.”

“Oh.”

“And I pull metal from the surrounding environment,” he shrugged. “Skywalkers are usually wind,” he added leadingly.

Aaron glanced reflexively back at Elena again. “Yeah, I think that fits,” he decided slowly. “What’s their specialty?”

Damon rolled his eyes. “Aside from being surly? Outdoorsy types. Big ranch outside of Denver. They ride horses, camp out, make their mansions look like log cabins with buffalo heads on the wall, that kind of thing. Sound like her?” he asked with a smirk.

“Um, not really,” Aaron admitted, hoping she wouldn’t feel too different once they finally _did_ meet her family. “So what are _our_ parents like?”

“Well, would you look at that, Vegas already,” Damon replied instead, nodding at the window.

Aaron allowed himself to be distracted from his inquiry but didn’t forget it. “Already? How long have we been driving?”

“Told ya I’d go fast,” Damon smirked. “Don’t freak out, I’m shifting back to the Corvette interior.”

Aaron didn’t know if he should brace himself or what, but an instant later he found himself still sitting in much the same position, only now in the front seat of the car. He looked back and saw Elena slumped on the seat, gradually waking up.

“Are you okay?” he asked her, wishing he were in a better position to talk to her.

She sat up groggily, looking around. “What—where are we?”

“Is it time for birthday cake?” Gabriel asked, popping up from the floor.

“We’re almost at Las Vegas,” Aaron informed them, trying to convey that he knew how crazy that sounded. “See all that light up ahead?”

“I’ve never been to Las Vegas before,” Elena commented with curiosity. “I wonder if—“

But Damon was frowning, and the car was slowing. Fortunately there wasn’t much other traffic. “What’s wrong?” Aaron asked, becoming alarmed.

“I don’t know,” Damon admitted. “Something just doesn’t—“ Suddenly a column of light shot straight up into the air from the center of the city.

“Is that some kind of light show?” Elena asked, with desperate hope.

“F—k!” Damon swore, yanking the car off to the side of the road. “Everybody out! Get down on the ground!” It was easy to see he was deadly serious and they quickly complied, throwing themselves down on the dry, hard-packed earth beside the highway.

“Gabe, c’mere, get down,” Aaron instructed, grabbing the dog, who whined in confusion. He reached for Elena and pulled her close, Damon barricading her from the other side. The wind had picked up, howling above them, and Aaron suddenly remembered the tornado drills they’d had at school—he’d been told an approaching tornado sounded like a freight train, though he’d never experienced one himself.

“Stay down,” Damon warned unnecessarily, reaching across Elena to grab Aaron’s shoulder. The look in his eye was startling in its ferocity. “I won’t let you go.”

With a screech and a roar the sky above them filled with light, a milky river rushing past away from the city. In the turbulent off-white streams Aaron though he could see figures, faces, but they were distorted, horrifying, like an Edvard Munch painting come to life. He wanted to ask what they were, but his jaw was locked shut with terror, and the answer reverberated through his mind anyway: Old Ones. He heard Elena crying and wrapped his arms around her more tightly, without taking his eyes off the sky.

Then suddenly, they were gone. The noise faded and vanished until the only remnant was the ringing in their ears, and all they saw above them were the cold, beautiful stars and an airplane lazily heading towards the city.

“Everyone okay?” Damon checked, breaking the silence. “Talking dog?”

“Gabriel does _not_ like this part!” Gabriel answered indignantly. “Almost as bad as the vet!”

“We’re okay,” Aaron answered shakily, though he feared it was a bit of an overstatement. Damon finally unclenched his fist from his shoulder and scrambled to his feet.

“Good. Because Plan B is now shot to h—l,” he snapped, whipping out his cell phone. “Harmony? You okay? What the f—k?!”

While Damon ranted into the phone (again), Aaron gently brushed Elena’s hair back from her face, trying to get her to look up at him. “Are you okay?” he asked softly, still lying awkwardly on the ground with her.

She sniffled and nodded. “I just—“ Suddenly she winced and sat up quickly, cradling her wrist as fresh tears sprang from her eyes. “When I fell, I think I—“

“Shh, let me see,” Aaron told her soothingly. He took her wrist gently in his hands, feeling oddly confident and calm. He concentrated on wanting her wrist to be fine, and a slight golden glow emerged from between his palms.

“Stop using magic!” Damon snapped at him, but then he went back to his phone call so Aaron felt free to ignore him.

“Okay?” he asked Elena, who flexed her wrist experimentally. She’d witnessed this ability of his before.

“Can I do that, do you think?” she asked, shifting on the hard earth to a more comfortable position.

Aaron put his arm around her and let her lean against him. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “Damon says the Lovedays are healers.”

“Well, he also said we couldn’t break things to begin with,” she pointed out tartly, and Aaron smiled.

“He said the Skywalkers—“ He was not able to get this out with a straight face. “—were nature-lovers, lots of camping and riding horses.”

“Really?” Aaron could hear the dismay in Elena’s tone. “Well—hmm. Maybe I could take up riding. That would be… okay.”

Gabriel trotted over to them. “Will there be food soon? Gabriel is hungry!”

“I don’t know, Gabe,” Aaron admitted, scratching his head. “Are you okay? Were you scared?”

“Gabriel wasn’t scared,” the dog claimed. “Gabriel was with Aaron!”

Aaron smiled at him warmly. “You’ve been cooped up a long time,” he reminded the dog. “You want to find a stick around here? Maybe we can play a little.”

“Oh boy! Gabriel loves to play!” the dog enthused. “Gabriel will find a stick!”

“Don’t go too far,” Aaron warned him.

“He’s so sweet,” Elena smiled. “You know, my aunt’s cat never talked to me. Maybe he _is_ something different.”

“Cats only talk to other cats,” Damon said in a preoccupied tone, rejoining them. “They think other creatures are beneath them. Even us.”

Aaron and Elena stood expectantly as Damon leaned against the car, his expression unusually pensive. Aaron didn’t think that was a good sign. Gabriel brought back a gnarled old stick and Aaron absently tossed it for him to fetch, careful not to throw it too far.

“Were those… things Old Ones?” Elena asked tentatively.

Damon looked up suddenly as if just remembering they were there. “Yeah. Sort of. One form,” he replied vaguely. “Apparently they just had a big showdown in Vegas,” he added. Aaron chucked the stick again for Gabriel, trying to listen. “Three adults and one kid your age—and some humans!—drove the Old Ones out.” He sounded like he couldn’t believe it. “That’s what we saw, the big light show.”

It was too much to hope the Old Ones were gone for good, so Aaron didn’t bother to ask. “Are we going on into the city?” he asked instead, even though he didn’t think it likely, either.

“No,” Damon confirmed. Gabriel whined to prompt Aaron and he tossed the retrieved stick again. “They’ve got a mess to clean up there, they don’t want to deal with us.” He sounded more than a little sour and Aaron had to wonder—was Damon’s perspective skewed, or were these people really not that welcoming?

“Was anyone hurt?” Elena ventured.

“No. Bu there’s a lot of humans’ memories to wipe,” Damon replied, which sounded slightly sinister. “So, Plan C,” he went on, with false brightness. “We’re going to Texas!”

“We were closer to Texas before,” Elena pointed out, perhaps unwisely as Damon started to bristle. “Why are we only going _now_?”

“Well, they don’t _like_ me very much in Texas,” Damon told her sarcastically. “But, we don’t have a lot of options right now. Texas is Darkwater territory,” he explained. “Jack Darkwater’s sister Marie is a Skywalker now. Not your mom,” he cautioned Elena, who was rapidly getting confused by the tangled family ties. “Also one of my wives is sister to one of Jack’s wives. Not your sister, though,” he added, “so she’s gonna call for me.” Apparently that’s what they were waiting on. “You thought human families were dysfunctional, try adding multiple spouses and thousands of years into the mix.”

“You’re thousands of years old?” Elena goggled.

“No,” Damon corrected, glancing impatiently at his cell phone. “I am actually only one hundred sixty-eight years old. Which is part of the problem. If you had someone older and thus more powerful trying to help you, we’d be home in about two seconds.” With this declaration he pushed away from the car and walked off about fifteen feet into the darkness beyond the roadside.

Elena turned to Aaron, regret on her face. “I didn’t mean—“

“I know,” he assured her. He handed her the stick with a dry smile so she could keep Gabriel occupied. Then he quietly walked up behind Damon, gazing up at the stars with him silently. “It’s so clear here,” he noted with awe.

“I heard rumors we came from the stars,” Damon replied unexpectedly.

“We’re _aliens_?” Aaron wondered when he was going to stop being shocked by things.

Damon shrugged. “Some people say otherwise. I don’t think they really know.” His gaze turned downward. “I know. I s—k as a protector,” he announced peremptorily. “Your whole life has s‑‑ked and just when you thought it was going to turn awesome, you get stuck with _me_. And I can’t even get you home.”

“No, you saved us,” Aaron tried to tell him. “We’d be—whatever happens when the Old Ones catch you. You came for us when no one else did.”

“Well, that’s true,” Damon agreed, pleased by the little ego-boost. He faltered again, though. “But Elena’s father offered to come—Logan Skywalker.” It was going to take Aaron a while to get used to that name. “He would’ve been a lot stronger. You’d be chilling in Denver right now.”

“With the floods?” Aaron asked curiously.

“I think the floods were caused because _we_ were trying to get there,” Damon judged. “I don’t think they would’ve happened if you’d been there with Skywalker.”

“Are you worried about your family, in Virginia?” Aaron asked delicately. If these Old Ones could cause floods in the mountains—

“Nah,” Damon denied, seemingly confident. “My wives are older than me. Very powerful. They would kick the Old Ones’ a-s if they ever came around. That’s the secret,” he told Aaron with a smirk. “Find some spouses who have their s—t together and listen to _them_.”

“Yes, you seem like a good listener,” Aaron deadpanned, and Damon chuckled. “I’m glad you came for us,” he said after a moment. “I remembered you. Would Elena have remembered her father?”

“No,” Damon agreed. “That’s the argument I used with the elders, actually,” he added. “That you would remember me. Put in a good word for me if you meet any.”

“I will,” Aaron promised.

Damon started slightly as his cell phone buzzed. “How’d it go?” he asked into it. “Well, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Thanks, honey. Love you.” He folded the phone back up and turned towards the car. “Alright, saddle up!” he called to Elena and Gabriel. “Break out the ten gallon hats. We’re goin’ to Texas.”


End file.
